Road trippin'
by TwisterTurner
Summary: As summer approaches, Max and Kate decide to travel through the USA together. Soon, something more than a friendship is born. Mostly fluff, with a little smut and some hurt and comfort.
1. Making plans

The sea was calm, dark-blue and inviting; a banjo motive played in the Two Whales Diner while the two girls drank a hot black tea at the same table. A moment of silence fell, Max looked into Kate's eyes, Kate smiled briefly.

"And by the way..." asked Max in a humblebragging tone. "Do you see that fancy RV Truck parked out there?"

Kate, oblivious of the vehicle, raised a little to look at the parking lot. "I see it, yes?"

"It's mine" smiled Max.

"Really? You don't look like you would buy something like that, Max."

"It's a gift from its former owner, one Frank Bowers. Long story short: this guy was a drug dealer who sold drugs to many students at Blackwell including, well… you know."

"Oh, that's horrible..." frowned Kate.  
"Yes, I know. But deep inside, he's not an evil person. He had no idea he was providing drugs for Nathan and Jefferson's deeds. Also, he was really, really in love with Rachel Amber. Like, you should have seen the light in his eyes when anybody said the name of Rachel. And when he learned that Nathan killed Rachel with the same drugs he had provided… well, he was destroyed."

"I bet he was… must have been terrible for him."  
"Yes, and that's why now he decided to quit selling drugs. He moved to India with his dog to become some kind of mendicant monk, and he decided to give his truck to me."

"Well, I hope the Lord lets him find peace." said Kate appearing lost in her thoughts.

"Me too. Now, since I have a brand new, well, a kind of brand new RV, I am thinking that I should put it to the test right now: summer is coming, and Oregon is going to be enchanting, I might spend a weekend in the wilderness."  
Kate smiled with her usual smile of dreamfulness: "Well, Max, if I had the means, right now I would do some crazy trip."

"What do you mean, crazy?"

"Like: really long, all the way to the East Coast. Or to the North into the deep wild, I have never seen British Columbia."

"Woah, Kate. I made a mistake lending you _On the Road_..." joked Max.

"No, why?" giggled Kate with an innocent face. "It's so inspiring, and Kerouac was really a man touched by God..."

"Glad to know you like the books I lend you, Kate. But you are right, I don't have anything planned for the summer, and my parents are going on a second honeymoon to Puerto Rico, so you are tempting me with your idea."  
Kate giggled again: "Let me know if you are planning anything, I too am not spending the summer with my family."  
"Splendid, let's see who else can I ask to tag along." said Max. She might have been making things up, but she could see a speck of disappointment in Kate's face.  
"You can ask Warren." said Kate.  
"Yes, I'll text him right now." said Max while texting Warren on her phone.  
"And by the way, if you don't mind telling me, how did it work out between you two?" asked Kate  
"It didn't" explained Max "We went to that movie date at some point. He made some moves on me and… well, it just didn't click in, he was gentle, flirty and sweet and everything, but I just couldn't feel the sparkle. I love him a lot, he's a wonderful guy, but I love him as a friend."  
"I see, and he?"  
"He was bummed, but now we are cool. I'm glad things turned out okay."  
"Good for you." smiled Kate.

"Now, I can fit up to four people on my RV, so I might ask if Chloe wants to come, too, but I'm sure she will want to."  
"Yes, she looks like the kind of person."

Right on time, the door of the Two Whales Diner slammed wide and a blue head entered with a fast pace. "Speaking of the devil..." said Max taking a sip of tea.  
Chloe rushed at Kate and Max's table and jumped on the seat, she strongly caressed Kate's blond hair, kissed Max's cheek, asked Joyce for a strong, black coffee and asked the two girls how they were doing.  
When Max told Chloe about the plan, she said: "Ha! I'd love to, but I am afraid I can't. I have plans with mom and stepdouche."  
"Chloe..." said Kate "You shouldn't call David that, you know he really loves you, and he saved Victoria's life."

"Oh, don't worry Kate. I call him that in a friendly way, and he calls me stepdouchette now, it's more like an inside joke."  
"So, what are you three planning?" asked Max.  
"We are going on a long trip to Europe soon. We have to do some weird 'making up for the time lost as a family' thing. It's going to be hella-awkward, but I owe them."  
"I'm sure it will be wonderful." smiled Kate caressing Chloe.

After the tea session, Max and Kate rode the bus back to Blackwell.

A text message arrived on Max's phone, it was Warren.

Max: _Hey, Warren, got any plans for the summer? Because I might travel to the East Coast aboard my new RV. Wanna come with us?_  
Warren: _Hey Madmax, sorry, no can do. I got selected for a wildlife conservation training program and I'm going to spend the summer in Greenland. But thx for the invitation!_

"Looks like Warren too ditched us." said Max showing Kate the text.  
"Oh, bummer, but he'll sure have a nice adventure there."  
"Yes. Now, Kate, you know what, we might as well go just me and you." smiled Max.  
"Yes Max, it will be our longest tea session to date." she giggled.


	2. The departure

The departure day came, just after Max finished refurnishing the RV to make it look like more suitable for two senior high school girls and less for a drug dealer.

"Be good with uncle Samuel." said Kate to Alice in the cage, inside Samuel's workplace.  
"I'm sure she'll keep Samuel very happy." smiled the janitor.  
"She already seems to like you." smiled Kate noticing the little bunny rising up in the cage searching for Samuel's finger.

 _Squirrels and rabbits gotta have rodent connection…_ _wait, are rabbits even rodents?_ thought Max looking at them with glee.

Before they fared on the road, they stopped briefly at Chloe's place to pick up some leftover groceries.

"Well, this is time to say goodbye, I always suck at saying goodbye." said Chloe with a tear on her eye.  
"Geez Chloe, we are going to be apart for like a couple weeks." said Max.  
"Yeah I know, but I get emotional. Bring me something nice from New Orleans."

"I will, and Chloe, please do me a favor."  
"Anything for you Max."  
"When you'll be in Italy, don't even think of taking a picture of yourself pretending to hold the leaning tower."  
"What?"  
"Nothing, it's just a stupid tourist thing every photographer hates."  
"Good, now I know which picture to take for you."  
"I hate you, Chloe."

"You better rewind time and unsay that."

"Hey, stepdouchette, come on! We are going to lose the plane!" shouted David from the Price family car.  
"Coming." answered Chloe "Well, take care Max."

Max went back into the RV, she sat at the very comfortable driver chair, Kate was on her right, with her seatbelt already fastened. The two girls departed on the way to the great unknown.

"Man," commented Max "Chloe is really crazy these days."  
"You think so?"  
"Yeah, since she quitted smoking marijuana she's always over the top about everything."  
"It's better for her health." said Kate  
"Yes, she vowed never to smoke again."  
"Why?"  
"She did this super-serious blood oath with David. Like, they actually cut their fingers and mixed blood and made promises. Chloe vowed never to do drugs again, and David vowed to get some serious therapy for his PTSD."  
"Oh, that's so sweet actually, I'm sure David will get better." said Kate smiling "You know, David has been always in my prayers recently. That man has lots of demons inside, but he's such a kind soul. He gave me a nice gift: a scarf which belonged to an Iraqi young girl who gave it to him. He told me it helped him not to lose faith and hope during the war, and wanted me to keep it during my hard times, during you-know-what."

"Man, I didn't think David could be this sweet."  
"Yeah, me too. But I don't want ever to judge people again, only God can do that. And what about Chloe and drugs?"  
"She told me that David once told her: 'Listen here, stepdouchette, I've been young too, I know weed is cool and shit. But I also know you have reached a point where you can't even stand up from bed without a joint, and that's where the fun ends and the trouble begins.' and when she told me this… well, I had the courage to tell Chloe that David was right about it: she is addicted to that stuff. And Chloe took the matter seriously."  
"Glad to know that."  
"Yeah, Chloe has been through some though shit in her life, but now it's time to start all over."  
"Yes, you are right, Max… and by the way, can I ask you a question Max?"

"Yes Kate, you can ask me anything." smiled Max.  
"You and Chloe..."  
"What?"  
"You can tell me, you know I won't judge you."  
"Well… Chloe and I messed around a little."  
"What do you mean?"  
"We… well, messed around, I told you. And we both liked it, it was pleasant, it made us both get in touch better with our sexuality and all. But… there was no passion. Like with Warren: I just couldn't feel the sparkle. We both realized that we are more like sisters and we didn't want to have sex anymore."  
"Oh, so sweet. What you two have is really special."

The RV was on the highway somewhere in the middle of Oregon, between two crowds of tall pine trees.

"And so, Kate, tell me, how come you are not going back to your family this summer?" asked Max.  
Max looked briefly at Kate's face and noticed her face getting darker and sadder.

 _Shit, I might have touched some string I shouldn't have, perhaps I better rewind… but will it be safe to rewind time while I'm driving? Shit shit shit…  
_

 __"Well, Max…" said Kate quietly  
"Did I said something I shouldn't have said?"  
"No, it's fine. I should have talked to you about this earlier."  
"About what?"  
"Well, Max… I'm sad and scared. The reason I am not spending time with my family is… to put it bluntly: my relationship with my mother is seriously deteriorating."  
"Oh..."  
"It started all from that cursed night with Vortex brats..."  
"But, Kate, that wasn't your fault, you had been dosed, it has all been proven."  
"I know, but my mother still held a grudge against me for that… and… and..."  
"Kate, you don't have to tell me if it makes you uncomfortable."  
"No Max, I want to talk to you. You are my best friend… just a month after that sick day, my mother was preaching at me about suicide being a sin, about how I would have gone to hell if I did that."  
"But you didn't do it."  
"I know, I know, but she has become so paranoid about me straying away from Light..."  
"Kate, you are the most devout and pious person I know."  
"Thanks Max… thanks… but she is obsessed over me now. Like, for example, remember when Chloe threw a casual Halloween party at her place and we went there?"  
"Yeah..."  
"I made the mistake of telling my mother where I was going, and she threw a fuss about me going at a Halloween party."  
"She told another of those crazy stories about Halloween being a satanic feast?"  
"Much worse, she went on a rant about Halloween being a Catholic thing, something I should stay away from. Luckily, my father managed to calm her down."  
Max giggled and smiled.  
"Max, are you laughing at this?"  
"No, no, I am not laughing at you. I was thinking about my father."  
"Why?"  
"Nothing special. I was just thinking that my father is the total opposite: he calls himself Irish, even though the Caulfields have been living in the USA since before the Civil War, and he would disow me if I ever dared not to celebrate Irish traditions and heritage. Just that. Go on with your story, Kate."  
"Ahah, he sounds so funny. By the way… that's it. In the last days my mother has been cherry-picking everything about me, she still suspects I'm losing my faith. It's so hurtful for me."  
"It must be… you must love her a lot."  
"I do. And everything started from that stupid video. Like, imagine what she must have felt seeing her daughter behaving in such a debauched way, I do understand her. I'm sure that someday things will get better between me and her. It's just that… sometimes I feel like she doesn't love me anymore, and it hurts Max..." said Kate with a tear on her face.

Max slowed down the RV a little and caressed Kate's head and face.

"Well, Max, thank you. I already feel better talking to you."  
"Me too, Kate."  
"Really? Am I not depressing you too?"  
"No Kate, you wouldn't ever. You are like the sweetest and most sensitive person I know. Every time you talk to me I feel much better, even when it's about depressing things, you have the power to give me faith in mankind." smiled Max  
Kate just smiled  
"But enough sadness for today" she said. Then she opened the window letting the cool forest air inside. "We'll work it all out when we're back, now it's time to enjoy the ride."

"By the way, where are we traveling to?" asked Max  
"No idea, I'm just going with the wind."  
"Well… let me figure it out then."  
"Sure Max, you are the one on the wheel."  
"You are going with the wind… we are all going with the wind. Go with the wind. Gone with the wind. The South… Chloe asked me to bring her something nice from New Orleans. We are going to New Orleans."

"As long as we don't have to flash our breast, works fine for me."  
"Figured you would say that, perv."  
Kate just giggled.

"So, is your mother Irish, too?" asked Kate  
"No, my mother is German and Italian, with a Blackfoot grand-mother."  
"Oh, nice."  
"And you? Where's your family from?"  
"My mom's Scottish, my father is German, that's it."

When the sun started to set, the two girls had barely made it to Idaho. They briefly searched for a place to stop amidst the prairie, they lit a campfire and rested on the nice wet grass there, they ate some beans and shared a glass of red wine, around them there was total darkness and silence, with just the cries of birds of prey far away.

Max played her guitar a little, and then she looked at Kate. Her friend was laying on the grass on one side, caressing the ground with a hand and looking into the darkness, her blonde head reflecting the light of the campfire. She could tell she was at peace, and she felt at peace too. Max took her camera and snapped a picture of Kate.

"You took a picture of me?"

"Yeah."  
"Why?"  
"I don't know, it's just that you are so beautiful under this light."  
"You really think that Max?" smiled Kate.  
"Yes. I'm not much of a people photographer, but you could be a good model."  
"If you say so, I trust you. Oh Max, thanks, it has been months since I felt beautiful."


	3. West

The morning after, Max woke up on the RV bed and got out of the truck. She saw that Kate had risen early, and she was already dressed. In the cold of the morning dew, she was kneeling on the green grass, Max could overhear that she was reciting the Lord's prayer.

Without thinking much about it, she took a picture of Kate praying, there was something rapturing about that girl being focused on her prayer.

"Hey Max." said Kate standing up. "Did you take another picture of me?"  
"Yes I did."  
"Please Max, don't take pictures of me while I'm praying..."

Shit, I should have thought about that... thought Max. And then she just rewound time to undo the action.

Kate rose from her knees, said Max goodmorning, they had breakfast, they rode back on the highway.

Soon after they crossed state lines and entered Wyoming, they spotted a hitchhiker in the middle of nothing. Max ignored him and passed over.

"We should give him a ride." said Kate.  
"Someone else will pass." said Max.  
"Yeah, but what if the next one thinks that too, and so on and so on?"

Max, realizing Kate was right, turned the RV around and went to pick up the hitchhiker. The three rode through the empty open lands of Wyoming, had lunch at a diner in the middle of nothing and Max took some time to take some pictures of the landscape.

The hitchhiker was a tourist from Denmark, he was tall and muscular, with white skin and long blonde hair, and he had that huge backpacker vibe. While Max drove, he and Kate chit-chatted, but Max could see everything in the mirror.

That guy was a bona-fide handsome man, and he was obviously hitting on Kate, who seemed oblivious of everything, she smiled at the man and looked at him. For some unknown reason, Max felt protective towards Kate and soon took the guy in a little aversion.

The hitchhiker was going on talking about some corny hippie-ish reason on why he loved America so much and why he loved traveling to America.  
"I guess the neighboor's grass is always greener." commented Max in a bitchy tone just to challenge him.

"And what to you love so much about the USA?" asked Kate with a sweet voice instead.

"I like how it is so wild and spontaneous. Man, I'd hate it if European civilization ever corrupted the purity and innocence of American barbarism."  
 _Man, what a pile of bullshit._ thought Max.

"I would love to be more like in Europe, without all the bigots we have in America." said Max.  
"That's a mistake, we have intolerant nuts in Europe too. It's just that, say, the bigots in Europe are closeted bigots, while American bigots are proud of demonstrating their intolerance with their car stickers."  
"And that's horrible." said Max  
"It is. But it's a sign of a healthy society. America is so full of freaks, but that's a good thing, freaks are a part of nature. If a country has no freaks, you can tell that there's something wrong about it."  
 _Yeah, what a pile of bullshit._ Max thought.  
"So, are you a conservative?" asked Max.  
"I wouldn't call myself one, but not even a progressive. I can't stand the right or the left, the former is full of fear and would destroy everything which isn't white, Christian and heterosexual, the latter is full of hate and would destroy everything which is white, Christian and heterosexual. I see them as two faces of the same coin."  
 _Nice way to seduce women of every political view._ Max thought.

They left the hitchhiker at a gas station, they had dinner and then they decided to stop somewhere in the middle of nothing to spend the night.

They lit a campfire and heated tea on it, chatting while they drank.

"Well, Kate, it seems you broke a hearth."  
"What do you mean?"  
"That guy we picked up today, he totally was trying to score you."

"Ahah, I know, I know… but don't worry Max, it takes much more than Mr. Goldilocks to make me question my abstinence." said Kate with a wink. Max laughed.

The night was cold and dry, dark and eerily quiet. At some point, Kate rose standing and she did something Max would never have expected from her: she started to dance, jumping around the fire and doing turns with her arms wide open.

"What are you doing?"  
"I am dancing, even without music. The silence makes me want to dance. You know Max, that guy we picked up said a lot of stupid things, but he was right about one thing: this land is special being so wild and barbarous, and we should be glad we live so close to haven."

Max smiled at seeing her friend letting herself go to the music of silence.

"Funny though, I've been clubbing once in my life and that night I felt sad and alone. And now I'm here, in the middle of nothing, dancing without music. Do you think I'm crazy, Max?"  
"Yes, Kate, I do think you are crazy." said Max with a soft smile.

Max took a picture of Kate beyond the fire, then took her guitar and started playing. Kate danced and then rested on the ground at Max's feet.

The day after, they stopped in downtown Denver, it was Sunday and Kate looked for a church to attend the holy day, while Max spent a day at some photo exhibition in some neighborhood full of college hipsters.

They took their way southwards, they picked up other hitchhikers on the road. The first hitchhiker was a preacher with whom Kate spent hours discussing religious stuff Max couldn't wrap her head around, she just drove enjoying of the view of the prairie slowly becoming desert.

The second hitchhiker was a newlywed Russian couple. Max was tired and Kate took her place on the wheel. Thankfully, the couple didn't speak a very good english, they mainly spoke in Russian between themselves and Max could rest her mind just laying on the bed and taking pictures of the desert from the window.


	4. The desert

The RV fared amidst the empty desert, the two girls were thirsty and overheated, poorly refreshed by the vehicle's weak airco.

"Texas." said Max as soon as they crossed state lines, the desert was as red as blood in the sun.

Kate started singing in a low voice: " _There's a yellow girl in Texas_..."  
"Man Kate, seriously?"  
"Seriously what?"  
"Are you really going to do this?"  
"I just felt like singing something."  
Max smiled "You are so sweet though, you know?"

"And I'm glad Texas makes you think of that song." she added "To me it makes me think of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah, thanks to Warren and his movies."  
"As long as we are together, there's no crazy murderer with a chainsaw that can hurt us." said Kate caressing Max.

They stopped amidst the desert. It was beautiful, Max took many pictures, but it was also terribly hot and dry and they had a hard time drinking their tea.

They left the RV airco on for the night, but still it was so hot, soon both girls' pajamas were drenched in sweat. Max removed her pajama and staid in underwear.

"I'm going to sleep on the sofa tonight, since I can't wear any clothes tonight."  
"Yeah, me too." said Kate.

Kate too started undressing. Max thought she shouldn't have watched, but she had a really hard time keeping her eyes away from Kate's scantily dressed and sweat glistering body.

Later that night, Max was sitting on a chair. She tried to stand, but someone had strapped her to that chair.

The lights went on, Max was strapped on a chair in the Dark Room. In the middle of the photoset of the Dark Room, there was Kate. She was dressed like in those pictures Max had seen, with her hands duct-taped, lying on the floor.

Mark Jefferson was walking around Kate, taking pictures of her. To Max's horror, Kate didn't seem bothered by that, not at all: she was posing for Jefferson, with a smirk on her face.

"Oh, Kate, you are by far my favourite model." said Jefferson.  
"Mr. Jefferson, you really make me so proud." answered Kate with a grin. "It feels like you really understand me."  
"Everything about you, your face, your body, you look so innocent and pure, you are just perfect. Unlike Miss Selfie over there."  
"Thank you, Mr. Jefferson. Thank God I'm not like that little hipster slut..." said Kate looking at Max with disgust.  
"I should never have brought Max here, you are everything I need for my art."  
"Oh, Mr. Jefferson..." said Kate with excitement "I think… I think I love you. Would you take me here? I want you to make me a woman."  
"Sure, Kate. As soon as I dispose of Miss Selfie." said Jefferson with a smile.

Then he came near Max and proceeded injecting the drug in her neck. A sound rang in the Dark Room.

"What the…?" said Jefferson and picked up his tripode.  
"Watch out David!" shouted Max.

Max was awake on the RV truck's sofa. She breathed with strenght, realizing she had just made a nightmare.

"What happened, Max?" asked her Kate's voice. Her friend was standing in the middle of the truck, still dressed in the underwear.  
"Oh, Kate… nothing, I just had a bad dream."  
Kate caressed Max's head. "And there was David in that nightmare?"  
"Yeah… well, not exactly. There was Jefferson..."  
"Oh Max… that's terrible."  
"I know."

Kate sat on the sofa, close to Max. "Do you want to talk me about your nightmare?"

Max didn't know what to say. She couldn't tell Kate the truth. She couldn't just tell her _I am a time traveler and I've been in a timeline where I, instead of Victoria, was in the Dark Room._ so she came up with a little white lie.

"It's just that the whole Jefferson thing is still bugging me. I can only imagine what must have happened in that Dark Room. I can only imagine what Rachel Amber must have gone through, and Victoria… and you..."  
"Oh Max..." said Kate and then hug Max.  
"I've dreamt that I was in that room, one of the victims of Jefferson." said Max, and cried a little. The touch of Kate's bare skin over her, however, felt like the single most comforting thing she had ever felt.

Kate stood up, she took Max's hand. Quietly and slowly, Kate brought Max on the RV truck, to sleep there with her.

"Thank you, Kate."  
"Don't worry Max. You were always there for me. Now it's my turn to be here for you."


	5. Deep South

Several nights later, Max and Kate were resting sitting on a tree in the New Orleans City Park. They were tired and sweaty, but happy and lighthearted after days of walking through the city. And they were holding hands, they had found out the liked to hold hands.

"I've never slept so little in my life." said Kate. "But it just can bring myself to sleep early with all these city lights."

"Ahah, Kate, we are not party girls enough to come here probably."  
"I know, I know, but I loved it anyways."  
"For an artsy freak like me it's one of the best towns in the world." commented Max  
"I am thinking that maybe, if my carreer in children books doesn't work out. I might come here to live in a small room as a street artist."  
"But big enough for visitors, please, because I'd come to visit you a lot."

Kate didn't reply. The two girls just looked into eachother's eyes, without saying a word. The silence was interrupted by a message on Max's phone. It was a picture of Chloe and David, with David holding Chloe lifted up and Chloe pretending she was holding the leaning tower. _Greetings Maxy, how are you doing so far?_ just said the text.

"So, are you still planning to make children books?"  
"Yes, about bullying as I told you."  
"You totally have to take this road, Kate, you'd smash it."  
"Thank you Max. By the way, where are we going tomorrow?"  
"I don't know."  
"Just let us not go back to Arcadia Bay right now."  
"I wouldn't ever."

The girls stood up, went in a bar in downtown New Orleans to drink wine and tea, then they went to sleep in their motel.

The morning after they took their way eastwards. They had decided they still had enough time and money to visit New York City as well. After a quick breakfast they departed. The Deep South was placid and calm around their truck.

The truck entered Alabama, Max heard Kate humming a song.  
"Don't do that, Kate."  
"Do what?"  
"You know what."  
" _Big wheels keep on turning_..."  
"Kate, I swear I'm going to turn around and go back to Arcadia Bay right now."  
"You'd never do that. _Carry me home to see my kin_..."

"Ok, then I'm going to kick you out and I go to New York alone while you hitchhike your way back."  
"Party pooper." said Kate.  
Max stopped at a gas station. "Are you really kicking me out?"  
"Don't be silly. We have to refill gas, and also eat something."

They ate burger and chips and refilled at a gas station and rested there a little to enjoy the strong air conditioning.

Sitting on a chair in the gas station there was an old man, he had the blackest skin and the whitest beard ever seen, and he was playing a banjo with impressive skills. Kate listened to him and smiled, the old guy smiled back.

"You play so well." complimented him Kate.  
"Thank you, young lady." The man went on playing. "I bet you got a really angelic voice."  
"Well, try me." said Kate with a grin.

The man played, Kate let him understand that she knew the song. Max listened to her. " _I have sailed the peaceful waters of the ocean deep and blue._ " sang Kate. The old guy was right, Kate really had an angelic voice. Max was raptured by her singing, she couldn't but keep her eyes on her and listen with her whole heart.

And every time Kate sang the line " _But my search for love was through the day that I found you._ " Max could have sworn that her friend was briefly looking at her and smiling.

When the song finished, Max felt like she didn't have enough of it. She rewound time to listen to her again. And again, and again, wanting to be stuck in a time loop of her just sitting there listening to Kate. And she did that a lot of times, until the headache was too much to bear. Then she just shyly applauded at the two.

They went on with their travel, when the night fell they had found themselves somewhere in rural Georgia and they set up camp there.

"Not singing any song about Georgia?" asked Max jokingly while they were drinking their evening tea.  
"I don't know the lyrics of any, unfortunately."  
"Better."  
"Oh, didn't you like my voice?"  
"I love your voice, Kate. It's just the whole 'singing a song about every state I find myself in' cliché that makes me cringe."  
"You are so funny Max."

A text message arrived on Max's phone, this time it was Warren and he had sent her a selfie of him with a polar bear.

"Whoah, just look at him. I kinda feel like boarding the RV on a ship and reach him." said Max  
"I know you'd do that… Max, I've realized right now that this is probably the furthest I've ever travelled, I had never been so far away from home."  
"Really?"  
"Yes, I felt like kind of scared at first, traveling so far away."  
"This was all your idea."  
"Sometimes you have to do what scares you."  
"Yes."  
"And besides… Max..."  
"Yes?"  
"When you are with me, I feel like I'm scared of nothing."

They just looked at eachother's faces.

 _Man, I'm messing it up… but anyways I could still rewind time if I mess up…_ thought Max

At some point, the temptation became unbereable, and Max kissed Kate's cheek, and then she kissed Kate's lips. And altought it wasn't Max's first kiss, it felt like it.

Kate just smiled with embarassment after they finished kissing.

 _She looks embarassed… perhaps I better rewind…_ thought Max. But she just couldn't bring herself to use her power. Not like she had suddenly lost it, she just couldn't carry herself to undo the sweetest moment she had ever experienced.


	6. East

They didn't kiss afterwards, but that night they slept together, close, holding eachother.

The days after that night were weird. They didn't say a word about that kiss, nor about the obvious tension between the two of them.

Still, every night, after they had drank their tea and Kate had said her night prayers, they hugged goodnight and Kate was there, looking at Max with her dreamy smile. Max kissed her lips briefly and Kate slept in her arms.

One day, they went out of the highway to take a panoramic trip of the Appalachians. Kate was sleeping on the passenger seat, the mighty mountains whispered their song. It was peaceful and blissfull.

She stopped the truck and went out to take some steps and do some cool pictures of the mountains. She sat on a rock and just waited.

"It's beautiful here" said Kate's voice behind her.  
"Yeah, I just can't describe it."

They sat back in the RV.

"Did I sleep long?" asked Kate.  
"All day long, ahah, but I just couldn't wake you up."  
"Where are we now exactly?"  
"West Virginia I guess."  
"Oh."

Max started the RV up. Then she realized it.

"Oh no, no, Kate, no!"  
"What no?" asked Kate innocently.  
"You know what."  
"I don't."  
"If you try doing it I'll stop you."  
"Then stop me." smiled Kate.  
"You asked for it." said Max looking into Kate's face.  
"Almost heaven..." sang Kate.  
Max stopped Kate by kissing her on her lips with passion.

Then they fared between the sleepy, wild and majestic mountains in silence.

The mountains gave place to the plains, the plains gave place to the city. They had arrived to the Big Apple.

Max spent a couple days photographing whatever a little country girl can photograph in New York. Execpt that between the pictures of buildings, people and squirrels, there were many pictures of Kate. She was the perfect photo subject in many situations.

The last night, Max brought Kate to some hipster-baiting cafe in the Lower East Side and drank tea with her.

"Man, the atmosphere in this city is too much for me. I could take a million selfies here."  
"You'd probably cover an entire building in polaroid pictures." poked fun Kate.  
"Pictures of you, of course."  
"Hey Max, where would you prefer to live your life? In a big city or in a small country?"  
"Hell… I don't know what to say."  
Kate did the sign of the cross.  
Max rewound time.  
"Man, I don't know what to say." said Max "They both have their fashion. You know, as if the city is just a forest of asphalt, or as if the country is a city of animals and plants..."  
"That's deep."  
"It's not, it's just something I came up with to explain it why I have no idea."  
"It's still deep, and sweet."  
"So, we'll figure it all out when we are back in Arcadia Bay."  
"Yes. Also, Max, there's one last thing I'd like to do before we leave New York."  
"Yes?"  
"We haven't gone on a tall building."  
"Yeah, indeed, we didn't..." commented Max and finished her tea.

Soon after, Max and Kate were about to get into the Rockefeller Center.

"It's everything ok, Max?" asked Kate.  
"Yeah..."  
"You sure?"  
"Uhm… it's a stupid thing."  
"You can still tell me."  
"Nothing it's just that I have bad memories pertaining to you on tall rooftops..."  
Kate looked at Max, Max could see a little tear in her eye.  
"Oh… that's kind of… so sweet of you."  
"You think so?"  
"Yes. Come on, follow me up there. And don't think about it, after all, I can't do stupid things if you are with me."

Kate took Max's hand and carried her.

On the rooftop, the air was cold and refreshing, the city was glistering with lights. Max took some pictures.

Kate hugged Max from behind. "I've had a silly thought" she said.  
"What?"  
"I was thinking about that other time we were on a rooftop."  
"Yes..."  
"I was thinking that right now, if I jumped from here maybe my gravity would reverse and I'd rise up in the sky instead of falling to my death."  
"Why so? That's funny."  
"I don't know… it's just that I feel so different from that time that it might as well mean that reality itself is changing. Would you have pictured the two of us up here one month ago?"

Max took Kate's hand, she kissed her lips. "Max… I'm in a wonderful dream, and I don't want ever to wake up."


	7. The return

The two girls departed back from New York City, it was time to go back to Arcadia Bay. Max was tired, and Kate took the wheel.

They stopped for gas and food, and Kate had to make a phone call. Max awaited for her inside the truck, while Kate was outside, walking up and down talking on the phone call, which lasted one and half an hour.

When Kate finished the call, she came back into the truck, sat on the sofa and looked tired and sad.

"What happened?" asked Max with worry.  
"Well… serious stuff is happening I'm afraid."  
"Who were you talking to?"  
"It was Victoria."  
"Victoria?"  
"Yes. She isn't feeling good at all these days and she talks to me for support."  
"That doesn't sound like her at all."  
"I know, but it is a moment of serious weakness for her. If you think I'm doing bad for what happened, wait untill I tell you what Victoria is going through..."  
"She still hasn't gotten over what Jefferson did to her?"  
"Oh… it's much, much worse than that."  
"Wow… what could possibly be?" 

Kate looked at Max with a sad face. "Victoria told me not to talk about it with anybody… to put it into perspective: it's something not even Taylor and Courtney know about. Only her parents, her therapist and me… but I'm feeling so empathic towards her, I am almost suffering."

Max sat alongside Kate. "Then tell me what's it about… I swear nobody will know. I won't tell anyone."  
"Not even Chloe?"  
"Not even Chloe."  
"Ok then..." said Kate with a hard breath "Victoria told me her darkest secret: a couple days before Jefferson took her to the Dark Room, she had sex with him."  
"Ouch..."  
"And she told me she did that because she really felt attracted to him."  
"Well… to be fair, we all had some crush on Jefferson."  
"Yeah, but how would you feel if it turned out that a guy for whom you had spread your legs was a murderer and rapist?"  
"I guess I'd have to go into therapy."  
"Yes… but it's not only that… there's another worse thing going on."  
"Tell me..."

"Have you noticed Victoria hasn't been at Blackweel for one month and a half?"  
"Yes."  
"When Victoria had sex with Jefferson… she was dumb enough not to use protection..."  
"Oh, fuck me!" shouted Max with shock.  
"Yeah, Victoria was in tears when she told me."

"Why did she tell all this to you?"  
"I don't know. I guess she though I was the only one empathic enough for this. And she asked me for what was best to do with the child."  
"And what did you tell her?"  
"What do you think I think of abortion?" said Kate.

"Jesus Kate..."  
"Don't blaspheme."  
Max rewound time.  
"Kate… You told her to keep a baby Jefferson inside her womb."  
"But Max, it's not the baby's fault his father is a monster!" shouted Kate.  
"But just think about what Victoria would go through now."  
"She'll deliver the baby and give him to foster care, and then it will be like nothing happened. And the baby will grow up without knowing who his father was."  
"It will still be traumatic for her."  
"I know, but that's her choice. She will get over it at the end."  
"Are you sure it is?"  
"Well, Max. I was thinking that maybe I wasn't the right person to tell her what to do. But then I thought: if Victoria asked me what to do in the first place, it means she knew exactly what would I have told her, and it means that deep down she already knew she didn't want to kill the child."  
"I guess you are right." 

Kate cried. "I should not have told you all this, it was her secret."  
Max felt bad for telling Kate to reveal it.

Max rewound time.

Kate looked at Max with a sad face. "Victoria told me not to talk about it with anybody… to put it into perspective: it's something not even Taylor and Courtney know about. Only her parents, her therapist and me… but I'm feeling so empathic towards her, I am almost suffering."

"Well… Kate. Honestly, if it is something serious, and if Victoria is keeping it a secret, you probably shouldn't tell me at all."  
"Yes, yes… I guess you are right."  
"But I'm here for you, for everything you need."  
"You already did enough for me, Supermax" smiled Kate briefly.  
"And Kate… well, I'm sure that whatever problem Victoria has, whatever advice you will give her will be the best advice."  
"Thanks Max."  
"Come on, baby, the road's waiting for us."  
"Yes. I'll take the wheel."  
"Are you sure?"  
"Yes, you still look tired. Plus, driving makes me feel free and wild."

They kissed their lips, Kate drove, Max took pictures. But soon she felt tired after that long time-rewind and fell asleep on the passenger seat.

When she woke up, it was late in the night, but Kate was still driving. Max noticed Kate had her eyes wide open and a scared face.

"Is everything ok, Kate?" asked Max.  
"Yeah..."  
"You look worried."  
"A little."  
"Is it because of Victoria?"  
"No..."  
"Are you still thinking about what happened in October?"  
"No..."  
"Isn't it because of us?"  
"No… Max..."  
"Then what is? You have a bad face."  
"Max, we're in Detroit."  
"Oh..." said Max. "Come on, don't be so full of prejudice."

"I guess you are right."  
"Kate… uhm, can you drive faster?"  
"I'm driving as fast as I can."  
"Good."  
"Did you lock the doors, Max?"  
"Yeah, doors are locked, but I'll check again."  
"Do you think I should stop for red lights here?"  
"Don't know, you are on the wheel, it's your take."


	8. Tornado alley

On a wet, cold, grey morning, the girls stopped at a gas station in the middle of rural Iowa. They read news about tornadoes going on, making the road dangerous: because of the raging wind and rain, they couldn't safely push the RV faster than 30 mph.

They decided to take a sat into a diner on the highway and drank a warm tea sitting close together, while the cold rain was fiercely hitting the window.

Max wanted to take a picture of Kate by the window, but her camera didn't work. Max cursed and thought to rewind time to unbreak it, but she couldn't pinpoint the exact moment the camera stopped working.

"I guess I'll have to wait untill we are back in Arcadia Bay and see if I can repair it. Good thing I have a backup camera in the RV." said Max.  
Then a man in the diner came close to Max and said: "Hey, perhaps these can help you out." and handed Max some camera-repair tools. "I don't know if they'll work with your dinosaur camera, but try it out."  
"Oh, thank you so much sir." said Max.

The man who had handed Max the tools was a tall young man, with blonde hair in a braid, wore a cowboy hat and a Hammer of Thor necklace. He had a modern expensive camera strapped on his neck, the price of which Max could tell was well within the tens of thousands.

"You do have a really old camera." commented the man.  
"Yeah, I know, it is a really old gift and I just can't let it go, this camera is a part of me." explained Max.  
"So, where are you two from?" asked the man sitting.  
"We're from Oregon, we've been doing a long trip through the states." explained Kate while Max repaired her camera. "What about you?"  
"We have come all the way from OSU to do some storm chasing."  
"Isn't that dangerous?" asked Kate.  
"Only if you are a reckless devil. And besides, you have to take some risk if you really want to live your life, don't you?"  
"You know," said Kate. "We are from a town which had a tornado last fall, got pretty ugly."  
"Oh, you two are from Arcadia Bay?" asked the man.  
"Yes."  
"I've heard about the Arcadia Bay storm. It made big news to us, because that's a place where tornadoes aren't supposed to happen. Metheorologists just couldn't wrap their heads around it."  
"I guess it's climate change." said Max.

"Yeah… and my mom went crazy about it for a while, she said it was a divine punishment of some sorts."  
"Ahah." said the storm chaser "By that logic, Nebraska would be the most sinful place on Earth."

"I guess you are right."  
"I don't believe in divine punishment. It's just that Thor sometimes has his rage bursts and we humans can't do anything about it."  
"Or maybe someone messed with spacetime a little..." joked Max.

Max finished repairing her camera and thanked the man. "How about you two come with us for a tornado trip? We'd love to bring some tourists along."

Max couldn't tell the man _I am not a huge tornado lover, especially since I might have once caused a tornado._ so she just said a polite "I don't know..."

But Kate was visibly attracted by the idea. When the man left, she was bummed at having lost the opportunity.

Max thought to herself: _Geez, I've got to be less scared._ _Just like Kate walked up the Rockefeller Center, I might as well walk straight into a tornado._ _Besides, when will I have another chance to take sweet pictures of a tornado?  
_

 __She rewound time and told the stom chaser she would have loved to tag along.

They joined the other two storm chasers: one was a guy with a black trucker hat depicting a bald eagle on a chopper, the other one was a Native woman with very long hair, and all of them had wild crazy looks in their faces.

Kate and Max followed them on a huge black jeep, the woman was the one driving, while the guy with the black hat was checking the tornado data on his computer and guiding her with a jargon Max couldn't understand.

They departed and soon the woman drove the truck off-road, on a bouncy field. There the trucker hat man put some heavy metal CD, while the cowboy hat man pulled out a bottle of whiskey and drank a sip, he offered it to Kate. To Max's surprise, Kate drank a sip before saying a "Ew!"  
"Good, don't get wasted." laughed the man.

The following hours consisted of the truck bouncing, rain and hail hitting it and lots of lightnings blazing in the grey cold sky. The sucking cone appeared, majestic and threatening. Max snapped a picture. "It's scary." commented Kate.  
"Yeah, don't worry, we're too far away for it to be dangerous." kept saying the three storm chasers.

They parked the truck close to the tornado.  
"Dear God, look at it." said the trucker hat man.  
"Hey, please, do not blaspheme." said Kate.  
"It's not blasphemy if you name God right in front of God's majesty." replied the man.

The truck kept rocking and rolling in the wind.  
"Still scared?" asked Max the guy.  
"A little."  
"Don't worry. We're far enough from that, they are actually best seen from afar."  
"And by the way." said the woman. "I bet this bad boy is gunproof."

"Also, there's clean air here, it's safe enough even outside, take a look."

The man proceeded to open the truck window letting the cool, violent wind inside just to take his head out and shout.

"So, if you are one of those who want to take tornado selfies, go on." smiled the man.  
"I guess I'm too hipster for that." said Max.  
"What about a tornado portrait?" asked Kate. "I could be your model." smiled she.

And so, Kate got off the truck and posed for Max while the crazy cold wind lifted her skirt and jacked, made her cross necklace float and uncombed her blonde hair. Soon, she rushed back into the car, and sat down, trembling from the cold.

"Whoa, it's cold outside."  
"Here, have another sip of ol' fashioned, wild girl. You know what, keep the bottle." said the man.

About an hour later, the trucker hat man with the computer said: "Motherfucker is coming our way, we better fuck off."  
"What would happen if it hit us?" asked Kate  
"Nothing." said the woman. "They can't lift cars like in movies. But they can still throw bricks at you or turning you over. But this bad boy is gunproof."

They travelled back on the highway, they brought Max and Kate back to the diner where they had met them and told them goodbyes.

Max and Kate walked back into the RV, a fierce cold rain was still falling, they cooked a quick warm meal and then both drank one last shot of whiskey.

"That was intense." commented Kate.  
"Yeah, it was. You look like you liked it a lot." said Max  
"Well, Max, makes you feel the power of God."

Kate stood up, searched for some music to put into the stereo, she decided for some classic heavy metal.

"Look at you, you drink one shot and are already wasted." smile Max.  
"I'm not wasted Max, just a little tipsy..." she replied. "And besides, I feel wild and free these days. Let's dance, Max"

They started dancing wildly to the music. With her hair unkempt and loose, her clothes wet and dancing to heavy metal, Kate looked so different from usual.

Max sat down, took her camera and took a picture of her friend. In the picture, she had her blonde hair covering her face and her arms standing up while she hopped freely. Max just smiled and kept watching her.

"I'm getting to know your wild side I guess."  
"You are my wild side, Max."

Max came closer to her. She kissed Kate on her lips.

"I am the tornado, Max."  
"Then carry me away..." smiled Max.

Max kissed Kate again with firey passion, Kate responded by biting Max's lips, Max pushed her against a wall.

Carrying eachother in eachother's arms, they ended up lying on the bed. They kept kissing as if they were breathing into eachother's mouths. Max felt the temptation getting the better of her. She undressed Kate's shirt fast, she took her own t-shirt and bra away. Kate touched Max's left boob, causing Max to have chills of pleasure.

Max removed Kate's bra, raptured by the sight, she sucked her nipple, hearing Kate's loud moans. Wearing only their panties, they started humping, Max could feel Kate's crotch becoming every time warmer and wetter, as well as her own.

Max put her finger under Kate's panties, but Kate took her hand and removed it. Max then just touched Kate's thigh, and they kept kissing with tenderness. They looked into eachother's eyes. The desire was too much, Max reached for Kate's panties one second time, and this time Kate just opened her legs wide.


	9. Great plains

Max woke up in a warm embrace with Kate, they both were completely naked. She kissed Kate's forehead without waking her up. She stood up quietly. She dressed quickly and went into the diner to buy takeaway coffee for her and her friend.

But could she still call Kate a friend after what had happened? She thought this with confusion while waiting. But while she was confused, she also felt happy and calm, everything around her, even in the gloomy cloudy weather, felt so wonderful.

She came back in the truck, Kate was awake, dressed in her white underwear. Max greeted her with a smile and kiss on the lips and gave her her morning coffee.

"I've never slept better." said Kate.  
"Me too."

They drank their morning coffee, then they took their way westwards. During the trip, they spent no words on what had just happened. Actually, they didn't talk much at all. Max noticed that Kate looked worried.

"Look at it, the mighty frontier." commented while they were travelling in rural Nebraska. "Just imagine what must the settlers have felt in the old times… gives me chills."  
"Yes..." replied Kate quietly.  
"But I guess we all have our frontiers to face in our lives anyways." added Max.

They stopped for lunch in a diner on the way, here, Max noticed that Kate didn't eat much, and didn't even do the sign of the cross as she was used to do before eating.

They quietly departed again. On the RV, Kate sat on the back, without saying a word and reading her Bible a little from time to time.

They crossed state lines.

"Hey, Kate." said Max.

"Yes?"  
"We're in Wyoming."  
"Thanks for letting me know."  
"You have my permission to sing John Denver's Song of Wyoming." smiled Max  
"I am afraid I don't know it..." said Kate. "And I don't feel like singing."

Max breathed strongly. Then she parked the RV in the middle of the prairie. "Let's take a walk." she commanded.

They sat on two chairs outside, enjoying the fresh breeze. "So… Kate, do you want to tell me how are you feeling?" asked Max caressing Kate's head.  
"I don't know, Max, I don't know how I feel..." she replied, taking Max's hand.  
"Just talk to me. You know you can tell me everything."  
"You know what this is about… I've committed a sin yesterday night."  
"Kate, I'm sorry..."  
"You don't have to be sorry. I let you do everything to me, it's only my fault."  
"I… I just don't know what to say."  
"And I don't know what to think… the problem is that, I should feel like I made a mistake, but I just can't call it a mistake. Every single moment of it felt… wonderful… wonderful, do you understand? In that moment it felt like the right thing to do."  
"Yes Kate, I understand. I felt the same way, and I never had felt that way before."  
"I cannot just call a sin and a mistake whatever you and I have… it was not just messing around for me. But now, what will be of the future? Like, what if my mom knows it? That would be too much for her."  
"She doesn't have to know."  
"I can't live all my life hiding."  
"No… you can't…"  
"I don't know what to do, Max. I've read the Bible and I don't find answers..."  
"I'm sure God will give you your answers."  
"How can you tell? You are an atheist."  
"I'm still pretty sure. Beside, I'm more like an agnostic. And one thing I'm sure about… it's impossible not love a person like you, so, God must love you, whatever things you like to do in your bed."

Kate weeped a little. "Still, I'm in a mess and I don't know how to fix it."

Max thought to herself that she, indeed, had made a mess. But unlike Kate, Max had a sure way to fix everything.

Max reached for her purse and took out the photo she had taken of Kate dancing the previous night, the photo right before everything happened. Cleaning a tear in her eye with her finger, Max looked intensely at the photo. She saw colors and lights changing, she felt the fabric of reality twisting and turning. She felt her consciousness slowly drifting through spacetime.

"Max..." said Kate's voice suddenly, interrupting her focus.  
"Yes, Kate?"  
"One thing I know for sure, however. Even if I had a time machine and could go back in time to undo what I did, I wouldn't. That would be cowardly."  
"Maybe you are right."  
"And besides..." Kate looked intensely in Max's eyes. "I love you. It wasn't a simple messing around, Max, I love you, and I can't hide myself from this. Whatever sin we committed, it's a bigger sin to turn love away."  
Max hugged Kate. "Whatever happens, we'll be fine as long as we're together..."

They went back into their RV. "Take a sweet rest, Max, I can drive." said Kate sitting on the driver's seat.  
"We still have some road trip left." added Kate "And I only want good memories of the road. Whatever mess we're in, we'll figure it all out when we're back."  
"You are right, Kate."

They kissed with passion, then they travelled towards the setting sun.

Max looked again at Kate's photo, she smiled and let a tear fall. She opened the RV window, and then she let the photo fly away, vanishing in the vast wild prairie.


End file.
